The Suicidal Soldier Myth

[hack89]

Military epidemiologists (experts on medical statistics) have long sought to convince people outside the military that the rise in suicide rates within the military had little to do with the stress of combat and mostly to do with the stresses of military life for all those in uniform during wartime. In other words, the increased suicides were not concentrated among the combat veterans (who make up less than 15 percent of those in the military) but more evenly distributed among all service personnel. For example, 77 percent of suicides were among troops who had never gone overseas. The military, especially the army, has long documented all deaths and the Department of Defense recently released a study of all suicides from 2001-2008 (when the heavy fighting in Iraq ended). A similar study of 2009-2012 suicides is underway but the researchers don’t expect the trends for causes (which have remained consistent 2001-2008) to change. The researchers also point out that the reasons for suicides in the military are quite similar to those for civilian suicides, especially when victims are of the same age, education and other factors as their military counterparts.

These revelations were not well received by the mass media in the United States, which makes much of the rising suicide rate in military (but pays less attention to rising suicide rates among civilians of the same age and education). It was 9 per 100,000 in 2001 and 17.5 last year. This was declared to be a health emergency, and to a certain degree it was. What was missed in all the discussion was the higher suicide rate in the army was far below the rate for civilians of military age (17-60), which was 25 per 100,000 but was catching up.

The losses to stress have been growing in the last decade. For example, for every soldier killed in a combat zone, one is sent back home for treatment of acute stress. Most of these are not combat troops. For every one of those cases, there are several less serious ones that are treated in the combat zone. Many of these stressed troops are no longer able to perform all their duties. This is sometimes the case with troops taking anti-stress drugs. Some of these medications slow you down, which can be fatal if you find yourself in combat or an emergency situation. Many troops on these medications are no longer sent overseas. They can perform well back in the United States but this complicates the job of finding enough troops to go perform combat jobs.

The army is dealing with PTSD and combat stress head on, believing that a lot of troops have experienced an unhealthy amount of combat stress. Experience so far has shown that PTSD can be delayed, perhaps for a long time. When a soldier does come down with it, PTSD can often be treated and its effects reversed. This has large ramifications for non-military medicine, for many civilians suffer from PTSD. That's why military recruits are screened for their ability to handle stress and resist PTSD. In the civilian community, there are far more people who can acquire PTSD after exposure to much less stress.

http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htmoral/articles/20130813.aspx

I would argue that the the Great Recession caused more suicides among everyday people than the war did among soldiers. Prolonged stress is insidious and deadly. Time for single payer health care with full mental health coverage.

It is also time to bring our soldiers home.

[MADem]

1. DOD has tracked the suicide rate, by service, for a long, long time.

I think the suicide rate does correlate with the lowering of entrance standards, just as the wash-out rate does.

[hack89]

3. Except entrance standards have not been significantly lowered

they went down somewhat but they were always higher than they were in the 1990's - which is pretty high considering we are talking about the military that won the first Gulf War. For the past 5 years they have never been higher - it is very hard to get into the military now.

[MADem]

5. They were taking WAY more NHSG and Cat IVs during the height of

Iraq/Afghanistan, at least in the Army. The Services they were trying to squeeze to get more end-strength for the Army (USN and USAF, specifically) had their standards go up and their total billets reduced.

Standards went WAY down for awhile there--to the point where they were waivering felony charges. And they were still coming up short of goal.

Of course it's hard to get into the military NOW--we're smack-dab in the middle of a quiet drawdown. It's going to get hard to stay in the military, too; those weight and PT standards that have been gundecked in the past are starting to be enforced, and people are being tossed out on their ears. The evaluation process is getting stricter; people who thought the next promotion was assured are going to get the shock of their lives, often as not. The days when everyone got promoted just for sticking it out are over.

Background:

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/war_stories/2008/01/dumb_and_dumber.html

The Army is lowering recruitment standards to levels not seen in at least two decades, and the implications are severe—not only for the future of the Army, but also for the direction of U.S. foreign policy.

The latest statistics—compiled by the Defense Department. and obtained through the Freedom of Information Act by the Boston-based National Priorities Project—are grim. They show that the percentage of new Army recruits with high-school diplomas has plunged from 94 percent in 2003 to 83.5 percent in 2005 to 70.7 percent in 2007. (The Pentagon's longstanding goal is 90 percent.)

The percentage of what the Army calls "high-quality" recruits—those who have high-school diplomas and who score in the upper 50th percentile on the Armed Forces' aptitude tests—has declined from 56.2 percent in 2005 to 44.6 percent in 2007.

http://money.cnn.com/2013/05/15/news/economy/military-recruiting/index.html

The Pentagon estimates that only one in four of today's youth are fit for military service. More than 20% of high-school students fail to graduate. Obesity and other medical conditions disqualify about 35% of candidates. Prior drug and alcohol involvement disqualify another 19%, and criminal records disqualify 5%.
It wasn't always this way. Just six years ago, during the Iraq war surge, the military had lower standards. Only about 86% of new recruits had high-school diplomas, and just 67% of recruits scored in the top 50th percentile on the Armed Forces Qualification Test. Waivers excusing health issues and prior misconduct -- even felonies -- were not uncommon.
Those waivers were needed to hit enrollment targets. The Army fell short of its recruiting goal by about 7,000 people in 2005, but like the other military branches, it has had a surplus of recruits every year since then.
"Before 2009, we would probably be able to give you an example of a young man or young woman who got in with a simple possession of marijuana charge," Herrera said. "They would not get a waiver these days."

[cthulu2016]

2. ready access to guns, low pay, stressed marriages

[hack89]

4. Those are not uniquely military problems

which is the point of the OP. The suicide rate for all Americans is going up.